


The Artist

by Rookmoon



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Best Friend Meddles, Budding Love, Cute, Different Seasons for Different Chapters, Drawing, First Meetings, Fluff, Gen, Love Confessions, Writing on Skin, drawing on skin, it's winter, just a bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-08 02:56:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15233820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rookmoon/pseuds/Rookmoon
Summary: Drawing on your skin is fun, but it's better when it ends up on someone else as well.





	1. Donnie

     Donnie had a bit of a habit. He would draw on anything available, and when no blank space presented itself when he needed it, he would draw on his skin. It was usually notes, or ideas for some kind of machine. He would rewrite them on something more permanent when he had time, or when he remembered. Whatever came first.

     Every once in awhile, he would get comments on his drawings, but only the ones on his skin. Sometimes they were words, other times they were doodles. His skin always had some kind of ink on it. It didn’t matter if it was from him, or from the person who shared his most convenient canvas, but there was always something there.

     One morning, he woke up to find a giant flower on his arm. He figured that his soulmate couldn’t sleep again, and went on with his day. His brothers didn’t have anything to say on the matter. They knew that he drew on himself, and the figured that he would tell them about the handwriting that definitely wasn’t his when he was ready.

     That night, Donnie was working on some plans for the finishing touches on the truck when he saw something sketch itself onto his palm. He watched as the fine lines of pen trailed to the center of his hand. The drawing paused before filling in some shadows around what looked like a small heart. Then he saw white ink trail onto his skin, turning grey from mixing with the black ink.

     ‘You hold my heart’ 

     Donnie didn’t really know how to respond to that. He looked at the clock. It was late enough that he could go to sleep. He never drew on his skin when he was working and he found himself burning the midnight oil more often than he slept. They didn’t know that he had seen it. He might as well take the night to think about it before deciding if he should respond.

     Donnie didn’t sleep well that night. No one had ever confessed to him, not that he had actually had a chance to develop feelings for anyone, or even the other way around. He hadn’t even had a proper conversation with his mysterious soul mate, and they drew something like that on his hand.

     When sleep finally claimed him, he found a stranger walking around in his dreams. Their face was dark. He didn’t know who they are, but they meant a lot to him. He saw himself being happy with this person. His family accepting them, and learning everything he could about this stranger that could draw on his skin. He watched them smile when they looked at his notes he had scribbled onto their arms, and he felt joy well up in his chest. The dream was confusing, but Donnie shrugged it off, after waking up. Explaining it as something he’s always been curious about, but didn’t really amount to anything. That didn’t stop him from being unusually happy.

     When he woke up, he wouldn’t explain why he was in such a good mood, but his family knew that something was different. They were glad that he was so happy, but there was no obvious change lately. They hadn’t had any new missions, and there weren’t any big projects he was working on, otherwise he would just be working.

     When they trained that afternoon, Leo found out why his brother was acting so strangely. There was a new drawing on the palm of his hand. Some of it had worn off, but there was enough left for Leo to know what it was supposed to be.

     “Donnie, is this what I think it is?”

     “Depends on what you think it is, Leo.”

     “Did you contact your soulmate?”

     “Well, not exactly. They just drew this last night. I have no idea why, but I’ve never had direct contact with them.” Donnie explained, “At most, they’ve seen the notes I’ve taken when there isn’t any clean space around.”

     “Then I’ve got one question.” Leo paused as he lowered himself into the next stance in the kata he was practicing. “What are you gonna do about this?”

     “I don’t know. I figured I would wait for a while before I do anything.”

     “Even doing nothing is still doing something, Donnie. You don’t know this person. There’s no way of telling how they would react.” He stopped talking, but the implications of things gone wrong hung heavy in the air.

     “I know, Leo.” Donnie sighed, “I just don’t know where to start.”

     “I’d try ‘hey, how you doing, babe.” Mikey chimed in.

     “I don’t think so, Mikey.” Donnie calmed his breath, focusing on his movements. “I’ll figure something out one way or another.”

     The rest of the training session was relatively calm, aside from Donnie’s brothers asking about the drawings that kept showing up on his skin. Their presence demanded attention, but Donnie wasn’t ready to deal with that just yet.

     A few days pass before something a little more normal appears on Donnie’s skin. It’s still strange in some way.

     ‘I know that was all really sudden. I told my best friend about you and she kept drawing on me when she thought I wasn’t paying attention.’

     So that’s why they were acting differently.

     ‘I understand if you don’t want to talk to me, but I would like to get to know you better.’

     The writing seemed almost too stiff to Donnie.

     ‘I wouldn’t mind getting to know you, but all that earlier was a bit much.’ Donnie wrote, admitting what had been bothering him for the last few days.

     ‘What’s your name?’

     ‘Donatello. Yours?’

     ‘(Y/n).’

     They spent some time getting to know one another before Donnie saw an innocent question that chilled him to his bones.

     ‘Wanna meet up sometime?’

     His mind raced. He couldn’t think on it too long, or they would think something was wrong and jump to the wrong conclusion. He remembered the other day, when Mikey had said something uncharacteristically wise. Sometimes, it was better to take the bull by the horns and take risks every once in awhile. Donnie knew that that’s how breakthroughs are made. The only problem is, if he takes this risk, he could lose everything. Maybe, if he was careful, he could pull this off. He could ask April for help. She might be glad to see that he was trying to get out. Or she would refuse to help him at all.

     He shook that thought from his mind and thought of what to say.

     ‘What were you thinking?’ That would be safe. He could always talk it over with his family and cancel if things go sour.

     ‘What do you feel like doing?’

     He had almost forgotten that it was cold above ground, thanks to the heaters he had installed. He could disguise himself in as many layers as he needed to keep warm, and hopefully no one would look twice. That would also mean that he had to stay outside until he got home. That shouldn’t be too hard.

     ‘How do you feel about walking around town?’

     ‘Sounds good. Anything in mind?’

     ‘Not really. Just enjoying the season.’

     When Donnie had finally convinced his family to let him go, April helped swath him in as many layers as he wanted. The snow was thick, so no one would question his clothes.

     Meeting his soulmate was unlike anything he had theorized. They were sweet, and bubbly. Bursting with a quiet kind of energy. Their best friend, who had insisted on coming along to check out the guy that was lucky enough to have her best friend as a soulmate, was more energetic. Kind of like Mikey. The friend had also threatened him in a way that reminded him of Raph.

     Eventually, when (Y/n)’s friend decided that Donnie was ‘worthy’, they wished you both good luck, and left to grab some food on the way home.

     Donnie found himself wanting things to be different. He wished that he was human. After a couple of hours wandering around in the middle of the day, Donnie walked his soulmate home and returned to the sewers.

     That night, he told his family about his adventure on the surface. He ended up getting to know his other half well enough to reveal his true form. They didn’t really scream, but they did go quiet for a while and just sit at the table, surrounded by his family and pizza boxes. It wasn’t exactly the grand scheme he had in mind, but it worked well enough.

     In the end, they ended up not really caring that they were dating a giant turtle anyway. They thought kids were overrated, so it works in their favor. They also agreed to keep their secret, and got to know the whole family better.

     Looking back years later, Donnie found himself glad that he took that risk. He was glad that he was able to find someone who actually loves him for who he is rather than wishing for the impossible.

     It couldn’t get any better than this.


	2. Leo

     Leo had watched you trace flowers and poems across his skin for ages. He didn’t feel the need to contact you quite yet. For now, he was content to watch you draw a branch of spring blossoms up his arm. The day passed without anything of note, and Leo retired to his usual meditation.

     He thought it helped to clear his mind before his brothers came up with any other shenanigans to pull before the day ended.

     Leo let himself sink into that untouched calm that came with meditation. Time shifted, and the turtle felt something cool stain his calf. He didn’t open his eyes. Instead, he let himself enjoy the feeling of you drawing on your leg. A thought passed through his mind.

     This might be the first time he’s felt that on his leg. He turned the thought over in his mind before letting it fade. He would check after he was finished here.

     Someone entered the dojo, but he paid it no mind. He was too deep in his meditation to register who it was. He didn’t even flinch when he felt ink seeping into his skin.

     No, what pulled him out of his trance was the feeling of a finger brushing against his leg. His eyes snapped open, and Mikey leapt away from him. An old sharpie in his hand. Half a sentence written out of Leo’s leg in response to a simple question with potentially complicated implications.

     ‘Are you there?’

     Mikey had already written part of a response, so Leo knew what your answer is. He just didn’t know how the person on the other side of the strange bond would react. He looked at his leg. MIkey’s aborted reply stood stark against the scales. ‘I sure a’

     “Mikey, can I get that marker?” When Leo looked up, Mikey was gone. Instead, the marker lay on the floor, looking completely innocent. Leo picked it up, and finished what he was sure his brother was thinking. ‘I sure am” followed by some strange nickname that Leo would never use.

     ‘That’s good. I was starting to think you weren’t there.’

     ‘I’ve always been here’

     ‘Then why haven’t I seen anything from you?’

     ‘I have my reasons.”

     ‘Alright then, Mr. Mysterious.’ The writing pauses. ‘How about we get to know each other a bit?’

     Leo spent the next week chatting on and off with his soul mate. He didn’t realize just how fulfilling he would find the simple conversations with you to be. He found himself wondering how you’re doing when he isn’t talking to you, and that when he does talk to you, he loses track of time and that this unexpected development was starting to attract attention from his brothers. Leo had done his best to dodge their pestering, but there was only so much he could do.

     Then, Master Splinter had invited him for some tea, saying that he wanted to talk to Leo for a little while. Leo got the feeling that there was something a bit bigger going on. His father must have picked up on Leo’s odd behavior as well.

     “My son, I have noticed that you have been distracted, as of late. Is there something bothering you?” Splinter poured the tea into the cups that had been gifted from April.

     “There is something, Master Splinter. I just don’t know what to do about it.”

     “I have noticed the drawings on your arms have been changing.” Splinter takes a sip of tea. “Does it have anything to do with that?”

     “Yes.” Leo sets the tiny cup back in the saucer. “I just don’t know how to ask about it. Should I just go out an ask? Would it be better to wait and see if they tell me? It feels weird, Master. I don’t know what to do.” He sighs, “I want to make sure they’re okay.”

     “I understand. I also understand that this person is important to you, and if you have concerns, it is good to voice them.” Splinter raises an eyebrow and takes another sip of tea.

     “I will. Thank you, Master.”

     Splinter smiles and the pair finish the tea in peace.

     Later, Leo asks. He assures himself that you are important to him and a little bit of discomfort in new situations is expected. He takes a deep breath before he asks.

     ‘You’ve been a little off lately, is everything ok?’

     Your answer is almost immediate.

     ‘I’m fine’

     He waits for something else. There has to be something else you’d like to add.

     ‘I’ve just been wondering about you. When am I going to meet you?’

     ‘We could meet tonight, if you’d like’

     You don’t respond for a few minutes. Leo isn’t sure what’s going on. When you do, it doesn’t surprise him one bit.

     ‘That sounds awesome!!! I can’t wait to meet you’

     Leo smiles, writing ‘I’ll meet you on the roof an hour after dusk. What’s your address?’

     You give it to him, and Leo finds out just how far it is from the lair before starting the usual waiting game.

     By the time the sun set, Leo was more eager than usual to get top side. The spring air felt sharp against his skin, but he was too excited to notice. Tonight is the night he finally meets his soulmate. He didn’t tell his brothers what was going on tonight, but it wasn’t hard to guess. Alright, Mikey may have gotten a glimpse of the conversation Leo had had with his soulmate and told the others, but it was still pretty obvious.

     Leo also took off in a different direction than usual, and Donnie had a big grin on his face and the brothers leapt over the rooftops, following Leo through the night.

     They skid to a halt a roof away from where you wait, reading a book underneath the light above the door. From here, Leo continues on his own. When he lands on the roof, your head jerks to where his feet hit the floor. You blink, trying to see him in the shadows where he hid, admiring you. Your eyes narrow.

     “Who’s there?” 

     “It’s me.” Leo says slowly, enjoying the look of surprise on your face. “Leo.”

     “You’ve got a really nice voice. Why don’t you come over here? Let’s see if you’re just as easy on the eyes.”

     Leo scoffs, but takes a step closer. Slowly, you can make out his shape against the other shadows, and it’s not what you expected. Leo knew that. He was much taller than humans as it is, and his frame isn’t exactly normal. What surprised him a little is when you can’t fully see him yet, and you step out of the relative comfort of the little light to approach him.

     “You’re a little slow, Leo.” You explain, now a foot and a half away from him. It takes a while for your eyes to adjust, but you can’t wait any longer.

     Reaching out with one hand leads you to conclude that he wears some kind of armor. It feels strange. Smooth and cool against your skin. When your eyes finally adjust you’re shocked at the turtle staring down at you with a soft smile. Your hand splayed on his chest.

     “So that’s why you didn’t want to meet until now.”

     Leo nodded with a chuckle. “Yeah, I thought you’d flip out.”

     You just laugh as you reach around to hug him. He returns it, and you hear others land close by.

     “Who are your friends?”

     “They’re my brothers.”

     “You have brothers? That’s so cool!”

     Leo watches as you greet each of the turtles, one at a time, a wide smile firmly planted on your face. The turtle can already tell that he has another person to protect, and he’d do it gladly. You’re already a member of the family, as far as he’s concerned. And you’re more than okay with that.

     Time passes, and you meet Splinter. He’s more than happy to welcome you into the fold, and you’re more than happy to call them family. Leo couldn’t think of anything that would make him happier at the moment. For once, everything went according to plan. More or less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the ending feels weird. I'll fix it later. Feel free to let me know what you thought.


	3. Mikey

     From the moment Mikey first saw the lines appear on his arms he knew that his soulmate was an artist, or at least, someone who likes drawing. The first one was a little doodle on his palm. It was a tiny person. Then came the words. As he grew older, his other half’s drawings grew in talent and frequency. Sometimes they would doodle silly things just for the fun of it, and Mikey thought it was great. Every day, he would wake up and wonder what they would stain onto his skin. The first thing was a grocery list on the palm of his hand.

     Mikey dashed to Donnie’s desk for a marker and a clear space to write what his soul mate was likely to eat. He was curious, could he find out what they like by keeping track of the things they write? There was only one way to find out.

     Another day, it was a short poem. It was only a couple of lines, but Mikey loved watching their handwriting trace itself onto his scaly skin. He recognized it as a haiku. He took a picture of it, and went on with his day. Later that day, he noticed that a small field of flowers had bloomed in the palm of his hand around the poem. He looked at it and wondered, not for the first time, what kind of person would draw on themselves so much. Probably someone just as bombastic as him.

     He didn’t even think about drawing on his skin until one day he was doodling on a clean spot of table not taken by Donnie’s own notes on anything and everything that would stay still long enough. He was using an old marker on a vacant space of wall that didn’t let it dry all of the way before the ink smeared onto his hand. He didn’t think much of it. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d gotten art supplies to stain his skin. What he wasn’t counting on was his soulmate seeing it. He was shocked when the same wonderful handwriting appeared on his arm, asking after him with a simple line.

     ‘So you do exist.’

     Mikey replied with a shaky hand. The thick strokes of the marker a sharp contrast to his partners own thin trails of ball point pen.

     ‘yup’

     He watched as words started before they were scribbled out. He chuckled, glad that his soulmate was just as messy with things as he was.

     ‘I’ve been waiting for you. What’s your name?’

     ‘I’m Michelangelo.’ He paused before adding, ‘I like your drawings.’

     ‘You see those?’

     ‘Everything you write on your skin shows up on mine, so I think I see most of it.’

     ‘Why didn’t you draw anything?’

     ‘It’s more fun to see what you draw.’

     ‘Do you draw?’

     ‘Sometimes’

     ‘Wanna draw something together?’ Their letters were starting to connect in their hurry to write them. Mikey could tell they were getting excited. He would be the first to admit that he was excited as well.

     ‘Yeah! What do you want to draw?’

     ‘I’ll draw anything. You start before we take up the rest of the space talking.’

     ‘How about we draw together?’

     ‘At the same time? Deal’

     Mikey nearly spilled the cup of pens trying to get to one that wasn’t a giant sharpie. He started with a line, branching out towards his palm. He watched as another one drew itself connected to his, and he added another swirl with beams coming out of one side. It attached itself near his palm, where he continued drawing. Mikey found that his soulmate had added some small vines and some tiny words that look more like squiggly lines to the work. They started drawing simple shapes, and fluffy clouds looped in between his own abstract drawings. Mikey smiles, adding some more leaves to the vine climbing up his arm. Soon his whole arm is covered in a sleeve of beautiful art that didn’t really make sense as a whole. It looked more like an elaborate doodle than anything else. The words from their short conversation covered by lines.

     When Mikey gets up for some food, Leo sees his arm. Leo smiles, and looks over the intricate work of the last few hours he spent with his soulmate.

     “Did they do this one too?” Leo asks, looking over the word. “It looks a little different from the last ones.” Leo knows that his own soulmate draws as well. He also spent most of the time watching them work instead of joining in.

     “That’s cause we both drew it.” Mikey smiles.

     Leo nods to Mikey, before going back to whatever he was doing before.

     Mikey leaves his brother alone to raid the fridge and go tell the rest of his family about his first actual interaction with his soulmate. Splinter was going to love hearing about this!

     Mikey was hardly seen without something to write with for the next few days. Usually, he was scribbling on his arm. He and his soulmate wrote back and forth, getting to know them better. When he asked about where they live, he was happy to know that they were in New York. That’s not far at all!

     When they asked, He told them that he lived in New York as well. He started to sweat when they asked to meet. Mikey tried to distract them, but it didn’t work. He didn’t want to tell them that that might not be a good idea, but there was only so much he could do, so he made excuses. He wasn’t feeling well, and his father wouldn’t let him out of the house. He had thought up a long list of excuses for this exact reason.

     Really, Mikey was afraid of what his other half might say about him being a mutant turtle. Humans aren’t really known for their kindness, in spite of knowing that April and Casey are some cool humans. He doesn’t want his soul mate to reject him for something he isn’t willing- can’t change.

     Over the next few weeks, he woke up to cute little notes on his palm. He found himself looking forward to their writing on his palms. The pair wrote back and forth regularly. He found out that their name was (Y/n) and that they like music, and drawing. They also like reading, and singing, and a lot of other things.

     It was a month later when they asked to meet again. Mikey knew that they weren’t going to let this go so easily, so he asked where they lived. He told them that he would meet them on the roof, if they were absolutely sure about meeting him.

     He was surprised when they agreed, saying that they trusted him not to do anything funny. They swapped phone numbers. After all, there was only so much skin, and texting saves room for drawing. The rest of the night was spent chatting, learning more about one another.

     A few nights later, Mikey paced on the rooftop across the alley from where he was supposed to meet you. He tried to hide his nerves, but he just had so much energy. He couldn’t sit still. Mikey froze when he heard a small gasp. There you were, standing close to the edge of your roof, staring at him, looking like you were going to fall over. He rushed over without a second thought, guiding you to somewhere that wasn’t right next to the edge of the building. He had never seen anyone as wonderful as you. You were able to get over your shock fairly quickly, and you found yourself talking to him as easily as before you knew that he was a giant talking turtle.

     You would admit, when he said he wasn’t like other guys, this wasn’t what you had in mind. If anything, it was the last thing you expected from the goofball you had come to care for. After you were sure he was the same guy you were talking to over the last few days, he had showed you proof via his phone, and some of the pictures of your work on his skin, you managed to calm down a bit.

     Things went mostly smooth from there. He made you promised to keep his secret, not that you would tell, or anyone would believe you if you did, and to keep in touch. It didn’t matter if it was on your skin, or the phone. He still snuck away every chance he could to hang out with you. Time passed with the two of you getting closer over cheesy movies and cheesier pizza. 

     Eventually, he brought his brothers along to meet you. You also met his father. You were shocked again when you found out he was a giant rat. That led you to trying to calm Mikey’s brothers, who were startled as well. Soon you found yourself a part of this strange family of mutants, and you were perfectly okay with it. You know the saying, when life gives you lemons, demand cookies because you deserve the best. Even if the best means a mutant ninja turtle for a soulmate.


	4. Raph

     There was a good reason Raph often wore bandages up to his elbows. It had nothing to do with being self conscious of his scars like his brothers theorized, and everything to do with the ink that would randomly appear on his arms. Sometimes, the drawings were more like badass sleeve tattoos, other times, they were more flowery. When he was alone, there was nothing he loved more than letting his wrappings sit on his bed and watching the lines appear on his skin.

     Today’s design was some kind of robot arm that was slowly tracing itself onto his arm. He sighed, enjoying the pleasantly faint feeling of ink drying on his rough skin. The plates and bars shaded themselves in one by one, and bolts drew themselves into existence. He saw them draw metal claws on his fingers. His fingers. Not where they usually were on his hands. Why would they only draw three? Every other day, two bones, (or claws or poles or whatever they would draw would be) would show up on his fingers, and one on his thumb, but today was different. There were only three. It spanned across his fingers the way that he imagined they were supposed to look like on his hands, and he found himself panicking.

     There’s no way his soulmate would know that he’s a mutant turtle. He made sure not to draw on himself, even by accident, but this seemed too strange to be mere coincidence. Did they guess what he was? Did they see him? Did they know? How could they find out if he left no clues for them to find?

     He paced, pondering the chances of his other half knowing just how dangerous he could be. Then he saw lines tracing onto his other arm. These ones were a bit more sloppy but Raph’s stomach sank at the sight. They drew careful stitches over the puckered flesh of his scars, and he wondered how they knew that they were there. His brothers knew about every scar he’d ever gotten, but he didn’t know that the same marks had sunk into the flesh of his soulmate. From what he had seen so far, they made sure to draw over them like they weren’t there, but now there was no way he could deny they were there. How else would the small doodles go along the exact places where his scars lay.

     He traced over them with a thick finger. Did they know where the scars came from? Did they feel pain when his scars were healing? Or when he got them? He had to know, and there was one way that he knew to find out. He grabbed a marker, and thought about what to do. Should he say something? No. He didn’t know what to say.

     Should he draw something? Now that he had something to write with, he had no clue what to do. He tapped it on his chin, thinking. He took the cap off, and set marker to skin. He still didn’t know what to write. Raph put the cap back on the marker. The dot was still there. It was too late to back out. There was a large black dot on his forearm that didn’t blend in with the pen drawings at all. Maybe they wouldn’t notice and he could wash it off.

     The dot bloomed into a flower.

     Shit. They definitely noticed.

     Each layer of petals brought forth more, and soon there was a large flower drawn onto his arm. The petals went through the drawings over his scars, and when it stopped growing, three words traced themselves on his arm in unfamiliar handwriting. ‘There you are.’

     That’s all it took for Raph to regret grabbing that stupid marker in the first place.

     ‘I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me.’

     That was enough to make him rethink every time he had wanted to draw with them, but talked himself out of it. He told himself that his soulmate would have no interest in drawing with him. He wasn’t any good. He would make a fool of himself.

     ‘Do you want to draw with me?’

     How could Raph say no to such an innocent request. Especially after saying something like that. It soothed his soul, knowing that his fears were unfounded. He scrambled for the marker, and propped his leg up so he could reach his calf. Both his arms were already covered, so he would draw on his legs. If he had to leave the safety of his room, he could wrap his legs as well. His family might wonder why, but he could make something up.

     Who was he kidding? He was a terrible liar.

     Oh well. He’d already started drawing. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he did enjoy seeing that his soulmate had found his chosen drawing palette and was drawing along with him. Their drawings twisted together until his leg was covered.

     Someone walked toward his space and he didn’t have enough time to cover his arms or leg before Mikey walked in to ask if he was coming to training. Raph didn’t have time to stop his little brother from seeing, or to keep him quiet. Mikey was anything but quiet. He ran out of the space, towards the training area.

     In no time at all, his family was surrounding him, looking at the very things he had managed to hide for so long.

     Raphael stood, shocked that his family was standing in front of him when he wasn’t wearing his usual bandages. He didn’t expect his father to nod, admiring the drawings with a soft chuckle, or his brothers to look at them like the doodles would tell them the secrets of the universe. Or maybe Raphael’s soulmate. He was shocked at their approval, as well as their questions.

     “So, Raphie Boy, how long have you been chatting with this mystery person, huh?” Mikey questioned, stepping closer to his brother. “Do you both do the drawings? They must like drawing a lot. Have you met up with them yet? Are you two gonna meet up? Are we gonna meet ‘em? Wait, are they a he or a she?”

     The torrent of questions was just too much for Raphael. He ended up sitting down, trying to answer all of the questions Mikey had fired off. Raph figured he might as well start at the beginning.

     “I just got a hold of ‘em earlier today, but before that, they’ve been drawing on me for years. I don’t really know when it started, but I remember I thought ya’d laugh so I covered ‘em up.” Raphael shifted. He wasn’t sure how he felt about all the attention at the moment. “I jus got used to the drawings showing up, so I didn’t think on it much. I didn’ know how they’d react ta us being turtles. I mean, I know that some humans are okay with it, but I can’t be sure.”

     He paused, hoping his family would accept those answers. The looks on their faces told him otherwise. “I dunno if we’re ever gonna meet. Haven’t really thought about it.”

     “Oh, come on Raph. You’re not fooling anyone.” Leo folded his arms, smirking at his brother. “We’ve all seen you daydreaming when you think we’re not looking. You can’t tell us that you’ve never thought about it.”

     “Thinking about it and doing are two different things, Fearless.” Raph grunted.

     “So what are you gonna do Raph? You can’t just stay like this forever,” Donnie’s tone seems to imply something that Raph doesn’t like.

     “I know that, Don.” Raph stands, facing his family once more. “Whadoya expect me ta do. Walk up to ‘em and say ‘Hey how’s it going? I’m your soulmate. Wanna meet my family full of mutants?’ They’d head for the hills.”

     “Nah, bro, you gotta romance ‘em. You know, like they do in the movies!” Mikey advised.

     “Dude, we’re still turtles.”

     “I know that, duh. We’ll help you.” Mikey urged. “If you want, I’ll plan the whole thing out. Fancy dinner, pizza of course, fizzy soda, the whole shabang!”

     “Mikey, I don’t think that would be the best first meeting,” Donnie intervened.

     “Besides, how do I know they don’t already have someone else? I couldn’t just take ‘em, even if they are the one I’m supposed ta be with.”

     “There’s one way to find out, bro.” Mikey grinned, pulling a marker out of nowhere, and lunging for Raphael’s other leg. The one that’s still clean.

     Raph tried to sidestep his little brother, but the Mikey is notoriously fast. Raph felt Mikey just about sitting on his foot, clinging to Raph’s clean leg, and writing as fast as he could. Raph hoped that his other half wouldn’t see it.

     He was wrong. He could already feel their pen scribbling a reply. Oh, no. He almost didn’t want to look. 

     Mikey got off his leg, and proudly eyed his work. ‘Are you dating anybody?’ in his own handwriting. They watched with bated breath as the letters appeared.

     ‘Nope. I’ve never dated anyone. No one really wants to date someone that isn’t meant for them. They think of it as bad luck or something.’

     “I knew it!” Mikey crowed.

     Raph almost wanted to smack him. Raph really wanted to smack him. But he didn’t.

     ‘Why? You want a shot at this?XD’ traced itself onto Raph’s leg, and Leo snickered. Raph looked at the floor, wanting nothing more than to disappear.

     Raph ended up caving after a week of everyone asking about you.

     ‘Would you mind meeting me somewhere?’ He asked one night. He was going to go on patrol, and his brothers wanted to meet you. They refused to stop pestering him the same way they always do. And Raph fell for it again.

     ‘Sure. Where?’

     ‘What’s your address? I’ll meet you on the roof.’

     You wrote the address, and Raph took a picture before covering the conversation and leaving with his brothers.

     When the turtles got to your place, they found that you were already waiting for them. Well, waiting for Raph. The others were going to surprise you… or maybe back up their brother if he needed it. Not that he did need it, but just in case.

     You were shocked when you saw a hulking shadow peel itself away from the shed. You were too scared to scream, until you saw that it wasn’t a human shape. Then you were terrified. You glanced at the fire escape, until the stranger came into a little patch of light coming from a soft bulb over the door leading to the roof.

     “A turtle?” You gasped. You took another step back. Your heel hit the edge of the roof, and you felt yourself starting to tip. The shadow turtle dashed forward, and grabbed your hand.

     His skin felt so rough on your wrist, but in a good way.

     “So, uh, you come here often?” He seemed tense.

     “Not really. Just when I meet the person who I’m supposed to be with for the rest of my life.” You laughed.

     “So, you like ninjas?”

     “Well, yeah. Who in their right mind doesn’t?” You chuckle.

     “I know you know that I’m a ninja, but I’d like you to meet some other ninjas.”

     Raph beckoned his brothers into the light, and your jaw fell open. One ninja turtle was hard enough to believe, but four? This has to be some really weird dream. They waved, and Mikey himself and the others.

     You ended up becoming fast friends with the turtles and eventually, their father. Life was good now that you and Raph had found one another. There were some things that you wanted, but couldn’t have. Romantic dates in public, meeting the parents, your siblings’ questions, the works, but together, you and Raph could handle anything that your relationship could throw at you.

     Except for enemy ninjas. You were working on that.


End file.
